Simple, safe, sanitary earring

ABSTRACT

An earring for pierced ears having a pin for passing through the lobe and a one-piece detent sleeve receiving the portion of the pin which extends beyond the lobe inner surface so that the pin fills the sleeve, excluding dirt therefrom and yet has its end surrounded by the sleeve, thereby protecting the wearer&#39;&#39;s neck.

United States Patent Holt Oct. 7, 1975 SIMPLE, SAFE, SANITARY EARRING 3,504,507 4/1970 Ferro 63/12 [75] Inventor: Edward Ems Holt Attleboro Mass. 3,698,044 10/1972 Chernow 63/12 X [73] Assignee: Benrus Corporation, Ridgefield, FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Com 27,317 10/1904 United Kingdom 24/155 so 218,627 4/1942 Switzerland 24/155 SD [22] Filed: May 7, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 358,103 Primary Examiner-F. Barry Shay Attorney, Agent, or Firm-H. Gordon Dyke [52] U.S. C1. 63/12 [51] Int. Cl. A44C 7/00 7 ABSTRACT [58] Field Of Search 63/12, 13; 24/155 SD An earring for pierced ears having a pin for passing through the lobe and a one-piece detent sleeve receiv- [56] References C'ted ing the portion of the pin which extends beyond the UNITED STATES PATENTS lobe inner surface so that the pin fills the sleeve, ex- 208,968 10/1878 o6116ff 63/12 eluding dirt therefrom and y has its end Surrounded 758,848 5/1904 Pejchar 63/12 y th le h r y pr ec ing the wearer neck. 2,713,863 7/1955 Handerson.. 63/12 ux 2,769,322 11/1956 Czuch 63/12 Clams, 1 Drawmg Flgure U.S. Patent Oct. 7,1975 3,910,065

SIMPLE, SAFE, SANITARY EARRING Earrings for pierced cars can be highly unsatisfactory if they have any of these shortcomings:

if the end of the pin that goes through the ear lobe projects and pricks the wearers neck whenever pushed against it, making little stab wounds if she sleeps with her earrings on;

if the pin is not held on and can slip off, with the earring thus being lost;

if the detent that holds the earring on is difficult to grasp, and is easily dropped and lost;

if the detent is awkward or difficult to place on the pin; or

if the head that holds the decorative part (or constitutes the decorative part) is not held snugly against the ear.

These faults occur in the art, singly or in combinations, while my present invention overcomes all these difficulties at once, giving a highly desirable piercedear fastening arrangement, and one which is also well adapted to economical production.

In one basic aspect my earring comprises an earring for pierced ears, having a head, a pin attached to said head, and a detent sleeve having a bore such that it will fit snugly over the pin, the length of the piri being the length of the sleeve plus less than the thickness of an ear lobe.

The DRAWING is an elevation of an earring incorporating my invention, as positioned on the earlobe l of a wearer, with the sleeve detent shown in vertical longitudinal midsection.

The earring assembly comprises a pin 2, preferably straight as shown, which goes through the hole in the pierced ear. Its outer end bears a head 3, which abuts the ear lobe. This head is connected to a decorative member 4, and the connection may be so close that they are one and the same.

The pin extends beyond the ear lobe at the inner side, and is there covered and gripped by a sleeve 5, made of molded somewhat soft, resilient plastic material with a fairly high coefficient of friction, such as polyethylene. This sleeve is a figure of revolution, and its axial bore 6 is the same diameter as the pin, wherefore it can be slid on and off, but when on holds with moderate tenacity.

The sleeve is one quarter to one half inch long, preferably about three eighths of an inch. It is generally trumpet shape, with an approximately cylindrical main body 7, and a minor flare 8 on its back end, which flare is convexly rounded outside and abruptly shouldered inside. At its front end, which goes against the ear lobe, the sleeve has a major bell-shape flare 9 of a greater diameter, abrupt at its back face, and convexly rounded at its forward end toward its periphery. The central part of the forward face is conically dished, funnel shape, as at 10. This facilitates placing the sleeve on the pin. It will be observed that the sleeve so shaped and sized is well adapted to be grasped by the ends of thumb and forefinger for positioning of the pin.

I have found that ear lobes at the area that is pierced tend to be around 0.14 inch thick. My preferred sleeve is some 0.317 inch long. The pin of this my preferred embodiment is some 0.367 inch long and about 0.03 inch in diameter with a rounded end. These precise dimensions represent my present best embodiment, but these particular dimensions are not critical. In any event I make the length of the pin, from head to end, moderately shorter than to approximately equal to: the thickness of a representative ear lobe plus the length of the sleeve.

I can vary the relative length of the sleeve within moderate limits. In any event I observe the relation that: P may range from less than to approximately equal to (L S), in which P is the length of the pin, L is the thickness of a representative female ear lobe, and S is the length of the sleeve.

I have found that the sleeve grips the pin adequately if the pin projects into the sleeve by not less than about 0.15 inch. Hence the second condition that: P may lie within the range of approximately equal to, to greater than, (L 0.15 inch), in which P is the length of the pin, and L is the thickness of a representative female ear lobe.

I claim:

1. Earring comprising a pin to go inwardly through the hole in a pierced ear lobe, the pin being generally cylindrical and free of protruberances outside its essentially uniform main body diameter, a head at the outer end of the pin, and said earring also comprising a removable sleeve slidable lengthwise, without rotating, onto the free end of the pin and up against the inner face of the ear lobe, said sleeve consisting solely of a one-piece integral sleeve member with a bore of essentially a single uniform diameter extending lengthwise completely through the entire sleeve, that bore being of the same diameter as the pin and being free of inward protruberances, said sleeve being made of molded, somewhat soft, resilient plastic material with a fairly high coefficient of friction, such as polyethylene, the pin being no shorter than approximately 0.29 inch, and the sleeve being no shorter than approximately 0.25 inch, the sleeve being no longer than approximately 0.50 inch and the pin being no longer than approximately the length of the sleeve plus 0.14 inch, whereby in use with most ear lobes adequate holding is provided and at the same time the free end of the pin is contained within the sleeve and does not project therefrom toward the wearers neck.

2. Earring of claim 1 in which the sleeve is of generally trumpet shape, with its end to go against the ear lobe terminating in a major. bell-shape flare, convexly rounded at its forward end toward its periphery and the central part of its forward face being conically dished,

like a shallow funnel shape. 

1. Earring comprising a pin to go inwardly through the hole in a pierced ear lobe, the pin being generally cylindrical and free of protruberances outside its essentially uniform main body diameter, a head at the outer end of the pin, and said earring also comprising a removable sleeve slidable lengthwise, without rotating, onto the free end of the pin and up against the inner face of the ear lobe, said sleeve consisting solely of a onepiece integral sleeve member with a bore of essentially a single uniform diameter extending lengthwise completely through the entire sleeve, that bore being of the same diameter as the pin and being free of inward protruberances, said sleeve being made of molded, somewhat soft, resilient plastic material with a fairly high coefficient of friction, such as polyethylene, the pin being no shorter than approximately 0.29 inch, and the sleeve being no shorter than approximately 0.25 inch, the sleeve being no longer than approximately 0.50 inch and the pin being no longer than approximately the length of the sleeve plus 0.14 inch, whereby in use with most ear lobes adequate holding is provided and at the same time the free end of the pin is contained within the sleeve and does not project therefrom toward the wearer''s neck.
 2. Earring of claim 1 in which the sleeve is of generally trumpet shape, with its end to go against the ear lobe terminating in a major bell-shape flare, convexly rounded at its forward end toward its periphery and the central part of its forward face being conically dished, like a shallow funnel shape. 